The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed a New Zealand woman was among those subjected to internal examinations after a newborn baby was abandoned at a Doha airport.
A Qatar Airways Airbus A350-941 aircraft is seen on the tarmac at Hamad International Airport in the Qatari capital Doha. Photo: AFP / Karim Jaafar
MFAT said the incident in early October is 'completely unacceptable' and Qatar's Prime Minister has ordered an investigation.
After the baby girl was found in a rubbish bin, women were taken off 10 planes that were preparing to fly out of Hamad International Airport.
Younger women were subjected to invasive internal searches while older women had their stomachs pressed to check if they had recently given birth.
The incident came to light only last weekend after the Australian women involved had finished their 14 day quarantine, French and British women were also subjected to the searches.
Doha News, a media outlet based in Qatar has published CCTV footage purporting to show the moments shortly after the newborn baby was abandoned in a bin on 2 October.
It shows men dressed in what appears to be airport crew or paramedic uniforms swaddling an infant and tending to its welfare.
The report also claims the mother is yet to be identified, and the baby is safe in the care of social workers in Qatar.
The ABC has sought to verify the footage with the Qatari government.
- RNZ / ABC